nic's recent activity
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
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Comment on How are Framework Laptops? in ~tech
nic Link ParentAhhhh, I may have overstated how much I replaced, I replaced the CPU, the keyboard, the memory, the drive. You can see the replacement steps here along with estimated difficulty. My brother in law...Ahhhh, I may have overstated how much I replaced, I replaced the CPU, the keyboard, the memory, the drive.
You can see the replacement steps here along with estimated difficulty.
My brother in law replaced the screen when I gifted the laptop. It was his first ever laptop repair. He said it was easy to follow the directions.
I have not had to replace the trackpad.
Most repairs are not difficult, they simply have more steps to follow.
The keyboard replacement was not so much as difficult as oh-my-god why-does-it-have-so-many-fucking-screws i-never-want-to-fucking-replace-another-framework-keyboard-in-my-entire-life.
The wireless card has a weirdly finicky and fragile looking connector I was worried about breaking.
Overall it's not that Framework is more repairable than any other laptop with screws instead of solder.
Framework simply documents all the replacement steps and if you are in one of the supported countries will ship you OEM parts.
I have replaced screens/ keyboards/ trackpads on other laptops and you are reliant on third party suppliers, and you are reliant on picking the right you tube video.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
nic LinkAnatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches. Unreal levels of blatant corruption.Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.
At the heart of their relationship are two multibillion-dollar deals. One involved a crypto company founded by the Witkoff and the Trump families that benefited both financially. The other involved a sale of valuable computer chips that benefited the Emirates economically.
Unreal levels of blatant corruption.
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Comment on How are Framework Laptops? in ~tech
nic LinkYou can read other reviews, here. I've replaced everything replaceable on the original 13, and contacted support twice. 5/5 stars. I prefer the macbook, my kid prefers the framework. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 1 in ~society
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Comment on FBI arrests US army veteran for ‘conspiracy’ over protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in ~society
nic LinkThe indictment was handed down two days after career prosecutor Richard Barker, the acting US attorney for eastern Washington state, resigned.
"I have made the very difficult decision to step down from the U.S. Attorney role and leave the Department of Justice."
"I am grateful that I never had to sign an indictment or file a brief that I didn’t believe in. "
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Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
nic Link ParentI'm in the pro camp and I read it. It's interesting to read alternate points of views, and concerns I may not have internalized or even thought of.I'm in the pro camp and I read it.
It's interesting to read alternate points of views, and concerns I may not have internalized or even thought of.
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
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Comment on Always invest in good tires in ~transport
nic LinkYou were running bald tires. This is bad. Keep an eye on the tread. Or get your oil change by a place that also does tires.You were running bald tires.
This is bad.
Keep an eye on the tread.
Or get your oil change by a place that also does tires.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 18 in ~society
nic Link ParentAt a surface level, Gavin is soooo unlikeable. He completely fails the "would I want to sit down and have a beer with him" vibe check. The reason this mockery is so effective, is everyone knows...At a surface level, Gavin is soooo unlikeable.
He completely fails the "would I want to sit down and have a beer with him" vibe check.
The reason this mockery is so effective, is everyone knows Trumps twitter diarrhea is the polar opposite of Gavin's natural communication style.
The reason this should only be temporary is that Trumps teams are already mocking Gavin for having no authentic personality of his own. And they are right. Gavin lacks any noticeable charisma or personality.
As much as you or I might find Trumps personality odious, you can't deny he reeks of it.
I am glad Gavin is leading a vigorous opposition, I am simply sad that he is the only one.
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Comment on MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing in ~tech
nic LinkI think the draft of the underlying report is available here https://mlq.ai/media/quarterly_decks/v0.1_State_of_AI_in_Business_2025_Report.pdfI think the draft of the underlying report is available here
https://mlq.ai/media/quarterly_decks/v0.1_State_of_AI_in_Business_2025_Report.pdf
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Comment on What's a question you could ask to determine if someone is an expert in your line of work? in ~talk
nic LinkWhy do we do <business function>? There are no right answers, but there are plenty of stupid answers, and it always surprises me the number of people with no clue why their organizations spend an...Why do we do <business function>?
There are no right answers, but there are plenty of stupid answers, and it always surprises me the number of people with no clue why their organizations spend an inordinate amount of time doing things like forecasting.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 11 in ~society
nic LinkPutin's warm welcome gets cold reaction in Ukraine Trump met Putin at the airport. This almost never happens. The optics are terrible, if this were Obama it would be a major scandal, but I don't...Putin's warm welcome gets cold reaction in Ukraine
Trump met Putin at the airport.
This almost never happens.
The optics are terrible, if this were Obama it would be a major scandal, but I don't see anyone in the USA commenting.
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Comment on Most people, even highly technical people, don't understand anything about AI in ~tech
nic Link ParentI based my second paragraph here on what my guys have achieved so far using just pure Gen AI, no Agentic/Workflow (yet.)I based my second paragraph here on what my guys have achieved so far using just pure Gen AI, no Agentic/Workflow (yet.)
AI is fantastic at automating complex/ confirmable tasks. Got a user that wants a report, but the user doesn't know how to create reports, and they are probably going to ignore the data and go with their gut anyway? Got a spreadsheet that needs to be loaded into a highly structured database, that takes a thousand clicks through the UI, but takes a minute to confirm it was loaded in correctly?
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Comment on Most people, even highly technical people, don't understand anything about AI in ~tech
nic LinkI have some smart folks working for me. They know nothing about LLMs beyond what most of us know. What they have achieved blows me away. I merely told them to solve real problems and solve them...I have some smart folks working for me.
They know nothing about LLMs beyond what most of us know.
What they have achieved blows me away.
I merely told them to solve real problems and solve them with AI first.
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Comment on Question - how would you best explain how an LLM functions to someone who has never taken a statistics class? in ~tech
nic Link ParentAmazing! Can you explain why it feels like a super smart and caring person sometimes? And why is it bad at some things and just makes stuff up? (I know why, I am simply craving more of this LLM...Amazing!
Can you explain why it feels like a super smart and caring person sometimes?
And why is it bad at some things and just makes stuff up?
(I know why, I am simply craving more of this LLM explained to a fourth grader.)
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Comment on I spent months living with smart glasses. People talk to me differently now. in ~tech
nic Link ParentTen years ago John Stewart covered the pushback of Google Glass on The Daily Show. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna55401663 Not that this will change your mind, but I am not sure you caught the...Ten years ago John Stewart covered the pushback of Google Glass on The Daily Show.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna55401663
Not that this will change your mind, but I am not sure you caught the reference to glassholes, because at the time it was very culturally relevant.
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Comment on I spent months living with smart glasses. People talk to me differently now. in ~tech
nic Link ParentPeople used to make fun of early computer nerds, and now look at us now, our noses buried in portable pocket computers. I think the nice thing is, we may have a new coke moment. When Coke tried to...People used to make fun of early computer nerds, and now look at us now, our noses buried in portable pocket computers.
I think the nice thing is, we may have a new coke moment. When Coke tried to taste test their New Coke formula, to combat the incredibly successful Pepsi Challenge, they found a small but vocal minority hated the idea of changing the classic Coke formula, and swayed everyone else with their vocal lobbying for not changing an American Classic. Coke, of course, figured out how to weed out these trouble makers, and once they were removed, everyone agreed that New Coke was better tasting, even better than Pepsi. Of course, when Coke released New Coke, they found... that a small but vocal minority convinced everyone that Coke should not change an American Classic, so everyone clamored for Classic Coke. Somehow, Coke had Forrest Gumped their way to success, because now everyone wanted to buy Classic Coke instead of the clearly better tasting Pepsi.
The point is, there is a small but vocal minority who hate smart glasses. While smart glasses could take off, they will face a significant uphill battle. Because there is a small but vocal minority who hate glassholes. The only glassholes I know personally, are VPs and above at my work. I should ask them about the reception they get socially.
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Comment on Review: My Father’s Instant Mashed Potatoes in ~food
nic LinkThanks skybrian! This is such a whimsical essay, but it really touched me, for completely opposite reasons than the author intended. You see, I grew up on real mashed potatoes. Potatoes. Milk....Thanks skybrian!
This is such a whimsical essay, but it really touched me, for completely opposite reasons than the author intended.
You see, I grew up on real mashed potatoes. Potatoes. Milk. Butter. Salt. Day after day after day after day. Until I left home and discovered the magic of adding flavor to an otherwise plainly inedible dish.
To be fair to my mother, who was the primary cook, she was very, very sick for my entire childhood.
Also to be fair to her, I occasionally would get a little variety.
Maybe mashed potato in Shepherds Pie. Maybe refried mash potatoes for breakfast the next day.
Very rarely we would dine without mashed potatoes. Those glorious days would involve heavenly lasagne, or lazy fish and chips, or my grandmothers curried rice.
Needless to say, I didn't simply hate mashed potato. I loathed mashed potato with a furious passion.
And I was not a fussy eater. My mother was sick. I made my own breakfast and lunch from an early age. Breakfast was always the same. Basically pure wheat with maybe some sugar. Lunch was always the same, bread with a simple filling like Jam or Honey. I would use the same filling for years at a time. Yet it was this real mashed potato that I loathed with a passion.
After leaving home, I discovered mashed potato could be transformed with one simple ingredient, garlic, into something with an actual taste, and..... I found I actually liked garlic mashed potato. I didn't just like it, I loved it.
I simply did not like making it. Real mashed potato is a pain to make. Why, why, why, after going to all that effort, did my parents not add garlic to potato? The answer was, that was the way my dad liked it, with no flavor at all.
So what do I do now I cook my own meals? I buy instant mashed potato, with the flavor already added. And I enjoy it. It is consistently tasty and always easy to make. I dedicate my cooking time to focusing on the protein. Because my son, being much wiser than me, refuses to eat mashed potato, so I am often just making it for myself.
So I am like the bizarro version of this author. I grew up on real mashed potato, grew to despise it, and now find myself preferring the simplicity of Instant Mashed Potato.
Except perhaps this author hasn't tried Idahoan mashed potatoes. The instant mashed potatoes they took a photo of look utterly appalling to my educated Instant Mashed Potato palette.
For god sake, don't go to the effort of buying Instant Mashed Potato, and then buy the cheapest box you can find. Doing so would be like going to the effort of making real mashed potato and adding no chives, no garlic, no onion...
If you are buying instant mashed potato, for gods sake, splurge an extra $1 and get the good stuff.
Trump Firing Top Prosecutor for Failing to Invent Fake Crimes by Foes